Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Kids, cars and summer heat: A deadly mix

Justin Ross Harris

Justin Ross Harris, the father of a toddler who died after police say he was left in a hot car for about seven hours, wipes his eye as he sits during his bond hearing in Cobb County Magistrate Court, Thursday, July 3, 2014, in Marietta, Ga.
(AP Photo/Marietta Daily Journal, Kelly J. Huff)

Last month, a Georgia man left his 22-month-old son in a car for seven hours while at work, authorities say. The boy died and his father, Justin Ross Harris, is charged with murder and child cruelty in connection with the death.

The boy was the 14th child in the U.S. this year and the sixth child in July to die from being left in a hot car, according to the nonprofit group kidsandcars.org. In 2013, 44 children died from being left in hot cars.

"It happened to me," he said, explaining that he had six children in the back of a conversion van and he pulled up at his house and watched them pile out, forgetting that he didn't see his daughter until about five minutes later.

"It wasn't that long, but it can happen to anyone," he said.

A San Francisco State University study showed that 51 percent of kids left in vehicles were left because parents or caregivers forgot they were there.

Another 29 percent were playing in the car and got overwhelmed by heat and 18 percent were purposely left in the car while the parent or caregiver went to do an errand. Between 1998 and 2013, the study found 623 documented cases of heatstroke deaths of children left in vehicles.

20 degrees in 20 minutes

"People don't realize how fast cars heat up. In 10 minutes, the temperature can rise 20 degrees and in 20 minutes, it rises 30 degrees, even if you crack windows. Dark interiors absorb heat and transfer it to the air inside the car," Shrift said. "Never leave your kids in the car, even for a minute. You think you're only going to be in the store for a few minutes and soon you're standing in a long line and 20 minutes have gone by."

Leaving the windows slightly open doesn't help, experts say.

Shrift also suggested always locking the car at home so that kids can't play in it without a parent's knowledge.

Shrift recommends that bystanders who see a child in a car alone on a hot day, even if the windows are down, call 911.

"If the parents are uneducated, there's nothing like the police showing up to get them educated," he said.

Here are some hints to remember your child is in the car:

If your child is in daycare, make arrangements with the provider to call you if the child never arrives. If the child was left in the car, the parent will realize it sooner.

Put your purse or briefcase in the backseat next to baby so that when you go to get these items, you will see baby.

Leave a stuffed animal in the child's car seat at all times and when you strap your child in, move the stuffed animal to the front seat where you will see it and remember there is a baby in the back.